December 20, 2013

Adrian Sieber has teamed up with fellow Swiss singer Nadia Leonti and together the duo has recorded this really lovely cover (and slightly more "polished" version than the original) of House of Love's Shine On. Mailed to me with a Merry Christmas, a permission to share and (if I like) "gift-wrap" it...the later virtually impossible in this time and age (though it is right there below free to download), but sharing it I certainly will and with this post hopefully returning the Christmas greeting!

Check out new track single (have found out that it's actually a re-recording of an older track) Jeg har aldrig (haft det sådan før) by Danish singer-songwriter Stærosaurus...which actually doesn't sound anything at all like your typical singer-songwriter stuff. Rather this should probably be classified as an uptempo pop/rock track instead...but who cares anyway? Far more important is that this is a really, really excellent track (despite being in Danish, which sadly will scare one or two listeners away)!

And here's the old version...in all fairness, the new version is light years better!

This morning I've been listening again and again to Go Buffalo; a glorious little pop gem by Sweden's Like Swimming. It's highly recommendable so obey orders and please spend the next four minutes streaming, listening and enjoying!

December 19, 2013

For more than 6 years (since July 30, 2007 to be exact) Northern Portrait has occupied the softest spot in my music heart. Without overdramatizing things, I guess you can say that I’ve had a rather huge, permanent and probably at times very unhealthy crush on the band, ever since being blown away by the jangling pop sound of Crazy. Quite a feat one could say, as the total number of songs recorded (or come to our knowledge by being released) by the band amounts to 25. From a fan point of view a somewhat measly production over the band’s lifespan and since the release of the glorious debut album nearly 4 years ago, only 7 new songs have been put out (8 if you include the Some People cover, which to be pedantic was originally recorded way back in 2008). So in all fairness you can say that us fans have been given every opportunity to turn our backs on the band and fall in love with someone perhaps not as attractive, but far more reliable. Of course I can only speak on my own behalf, but I’ve done my very best to stay faithful and not let anyone else come anywhere near that soft spot. Of course I’ve been listening to lots and lots of great music by other fine artists, while waiting for news (any news will always do) from Northern Portrait. But at the same time, I’ve been nurturing my heart and made sure that The Fallen Aristocracy, Napoleon Sweetheart and Criminal Art Lovers were always within hand’s reach. So again and again I’ve been singing along about quiet nights in Copenhagen spent in empty hotels, while creating new favourite moments by letting the Münchausen in me drink Lambrusco with Stirling Moss; only to see life return to normal as my headaches begin and then spend my time waiting for a chance to commit hara-kiri with a teaspoon. Then earlier this year I felt even better, when the happy nice day arrived and we all got greetings from ParisCopenhagen, with the release of Pretty Decent Swimmers; which once again saw the band aim for guitar pop heaven. Fast forward to November and the release of the A Sunday Matinée, where, with no offence to all the other very talented contributing artists, the standout track by a mile was the band's effort The Young and Hopefuls; yet again proving that whenever Stefan Larsen decides to dust off his guitar no one really comes close to writing pop songs like he does. Now it’s December and whether it was Mr. Larsen himself or Mr. Tassos of Matinée Recordings, who came up with the idea that this year’s Christmas present to every indie pop fan inhabiting the planet should be a compilation of every non-album track recorded by Northern Portrait, I obviously can't tell. But what a grand idea it was and following the arrival of Ta! in my mailbox yesterday (along with The Matinée 45 Holiday Ornament, which my wife definitely wasn’t too impressed with) I am spending today listening and perhaps more than ever being overwhelmed by the magic pop universe created by the band. Now I can only second the hopes of A Layer of Chips that the compilation title Ta! by no means indicate a farewell and that a sophomore album will (as promised) in fact be released next year. So fast forward to 2014…

December 18, 2013

Have heard the track Bay by new Danish trio Julias Moon a number of times before on the radio (actually it's been played regularly the past month and a half), but this morning it just stuck. A really wonderful, catchy and groovy pop piece that I hope you'll (better late than never) enjoy as much as I've been enjoying it this morning!

UPDATE: Hmmmm. Received a promo mail about this band two months ago! But as I've said it so many times before; I get far too many mails promoting pure garbage, inevitable causing me to miss out on something really great. And in this case I sure did! Damn it!

December 12, 2013

I've decided pay more attention to real life today. Decided to (shutter) ignore Twitter, Facebook, promo mails etc. and instead focus on something really odd and unfamiliar like talking to real humans (those of flesh and blood) and getting some actual work done (my to-do-list certainly requires a little attention). While I'm busy out there dealing with the real world, here are two absolutely smashing, gorgeous, phenomenal songs for you to enjoy!

December 11, 2013

New single Better in the Dark by Swedish/Australian duo (and twin sisters) Say Lou Lou is haunting, catchy and stunningly beautiful. And the video is (as mentioned by a few others) really elegant. Not exactly one of those hidden gem acts, I always claim to be unearthing, but this is simply far too great, to not give at least a small shout out. You really should check it out, if you haven't done so already!

December 10, 2013

Ta!; the previously mentioned Northern Portrait compilation album is out today. Been told that my copy will ship today, so hopefully it'll arrive before Christmas? Included on the album is the band's (how I wish it was) Christmas evergreen Leave The Trees Alone...

I Am Noxious has posted a couple of snippets of new tracks on Facebook. Great that new stuff is in the making, but it's virtually impossible to get any idea of what the new tracks will sound like! Meanwhile (the new songs should be ready early next year) check out this almost "legendary" cover of I Gotta Feeling...

My favorite Swiss artist (Lovebugs frontman) Adrian Sieber, has a new nice track out called Hurts So Good (no - not a John Cougar cover).

Just ordered my second CD of the year. And of course it's the new Northern Portrait release called Ta! A can't miss compilation covering every track released by the band that wasn't included on the 2010 debut Criminal Art Lovers.

New and really nice dance pop release by NY act Lilly Wolf. But for whatever odd reason it's not possible to embed it. Instead it's available for free right here:
+ Nightmare

Interesting new Danish constellation The Mountains will play their debut concert on February 21 at King Christian IV's Brewhouse. The combination of band and venue is simply too interesting to be missed, so see you there...?

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All words in this blog are written by me. It’s a blog about music. A music blog! About music that I like and artists I care for. Things have to be relevant to me. Not necessarily to anyone else. I’m Danish. I live in Denmark. I write at a lot about Danish music. And a lot about foreign music as well. Artists and labels not afraid of sharing music are the coolest. In the past I’ve been getting invaluable recommendations from José Antonio (J.A.) and Rodolfo; and still do! Big thanks to Steven of Letters Have No Arms! for designing the previous banner! Thanks to Ryan of Rikers for creating the current one! Songs for download are sometimes uploaded by me. But only when I have received permission from the artists/labels OR the songs are legally available for free elsewhere.